


Going For Gold

by WonderstruckSwan



Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: M/M, figure skating AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 11:59:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13926705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderstruckSwan/pseuds/WonderstruckSwan
Summary: Athos and d'Artagnan are paired as partners as kids. As time goes on their partnership grows stronger and becomes something much more than a sports team up.





	Going For Gold

Athos is 12 when he meets his new skating partner, a 10-year-old kid from Gascony called d’Artagnan. He’s quite small and slight, but Treville tells him that he is a fighter, like Athos himself, and just as competitive and a natural on the ice. So, he opens himself up to the idea of working with him, not friends exactly, but starts civil with him for the sake of their partnership.  
Off the ice, they’re awkward around each other, barely exchanging more than two words when it was necessary. On the ice you’d think they had known each other their whole lives; they move naturally together, when one falters, the other can pick him up without a second thought, they such a similar mindset that Athos began wondering if d’Artagnan could read his mind. He had never been this at ease with a partner, maybe it was because unlike Aramis and Porthos, d’Artagnan took this seriously, maybe it was natural.  
One day after they step off the ice, d’Artagnan hands him half of a chocolate bar and Athos takes it. He realises this is the first time he and d’Artagnan have smiled at each other.  
*****  
When d’Artagnan is 12 he and Athos enter their first competition as a duo. His stomach turns at the sight of other skaters, fit toned kids in tight, sparkly costumes and cool faces. He looks at Athos, who is trying to maintain the same calm as the rest of the kids, but the tightness in his fist as he clutches his bag tells a different story.  
“Are you nervous?” d’Artagnan asks as they get ready. Athos turns away from the mirror and stops adjusting his collar and looks at him.  
“A bit,” he confesses after a while, sincerity in his eyes, and d’Artagnan is surprised. He expected a show of false confidence as usual. “Are you?”  
“Terrified,” he admits. Athos smiles and shakes his head at him.  
“Don’t be,” he assures him. “It’ll be fine.”  
It does go fine in the end. Every move is exactly as they rehearsed it, except for d’Artagnan wobbling slightly as he lands, but Athos manages to steady him just in time. If he is angry, he hides it well. Another time they are only slightly out of sync with one another and it matters.  
At the end, they smile politely as they receive their bronze medals, but d’Artagnan can’t help but feel his stomach twist with envy when anther couple, an older, stronger couple, are handed gold medals. Athos notices and squeezes his shoulder gently.  
“One day,” he whispers. “That’ll be us one day.  
*****  
The winter Athos is 17, there is so much snow that the roads are closed so they can’t get to the rink, so d’Artagnan asks if he wants to practice on the frozen lake outside his house. Athos is sceptical at first, half convinced the ice will break, and watches d’Artagnan skate around for a good fifteen minutes. He finds himself enchanted in the carefree way he moves, even if it scares him at times, lost in the wide smile and sparkling eyes until he is convinced to join him.  
It’s not perfect, the ice is too uneven to do anything serious and they fall more times than they care to count, but it’s fun.  
*****  
As they get older they find themselves taking more risks, putting in more daring and exciting moves in their routines. Being the bigger one, Athos is often lifting d’Artagnan up, but it’s not enough. He holds d’Artagnan over his head, lets him perch on his leg, sweeps him off the ice, flips him onto his back, wraps him around his body. D’Artagnan almost weighs nothing in his arms.  
As for d’Artagnan, the adrenaline rush is all he needs, and he tells himself the racing heartbeat is from excitement, not from being so close to Athos.  
*****  
Their hard work pays off as the first-place medals and trophies start to pile on, from National competitions and continuing to European championships. They become something of celebrities in France, the media buzzing not just about their complex and polished routines but about their undeniable chemistry, and they are bombarded with the question “are you a couple?”. The nature of their dynamic attracts the press, the farm boy with the son of a business mogul. When d’Artagnan comes out to the world as bisexual it sends the media into a frenzy, but he says in every interview he is not dating his partner and is not into him “that way”.  
He is only half lying. He also misses the sad, longing look on Athos’ face when he says it.  
*****  
At 20 and 22 they qualify for the Olympics for the first time. A few nights before they head off, their friends throw them a good luck party. True to form, there is a lot of drinking, which leads to a slightly drunk Athos longingly watching d’Artagnan dancing.  
“You could always ask him out,” Aramis points out as he slides next to him. “Just a thought.”  
“You could always shut up,” Athos grumbles. “Just a thought.”  
When they get there, they’re completely overwhelmed. The atmosphere is so different, athletes from every corner of the world are swarming around them, the camera flashes almost blind them and by instinct d’Artagnan grabs Athos’ hand.   
Ironically, it’s Athos who gets struck by nerves this time. Their routine starts and continues perfectly, until Athos misses a jump, when he goes its too late, and d’Artagnan hits the ground because he wasn’t there to catch him.  
When they sit down, d’Artagnan clasps his shoulder and smiles for him.  
“It’s okay,” he sighs. “There’s always next time.”  
*****  
When they show up to the next Olympics, Athos is ready. They have rehearsed their routine to within an inch of its life; they could both do it in their sleep. The experience four years prior hardened their nerves and their resolve, all either one can see is the gold medal. Before they go on, d’Artagnan squeezes Athos’ hand, a gesture saying both “good luck” and “I’m nervous”.  
“We’ve got this,” he mouths back.  
And it goes perfectly. Every move is slick and flawless, no faltering, and it’s all perfectly timed to the point where it ends, with d’Artagnan in the air, his hands clutching Athos’ shoulders. The roar of the crowd almost deafens them as they skate off, grinning widely, their hands linked.  
They maintain their composure as they are given their gold medals. However once it’s done, Athos jumps down from the podium and rather than taking d’Artagnan’s hand and helping him down like the others did with their partners, he wraps his arms around his partner and lifts him down, spinning him around for good measure before setting him down.  
“We won!” d’Artagnan laughs. “We did it!”  
“We did,” he agrees.  
“This is everything I have ever wanted.” D’Artagnan pauses and licks his lips, shifting nervously. “Almost everything.”  
Before Athos can react, d’Artagnan claims his lips with his own. It takes all of half a second for Athos to respond, tilting his head to deepen the kiss, his heart racing and his mind buzzing. He grins against d’Artagnan’s lips as he pulls back just slightly, paying no attention to the crowd staring at them.  
“How long have you been holding that back for?” he asks breathlessly.  
“A few years,” d’Artagnan giggles before going in for a second kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I just write an Athagnan fic? What is this, 2014? Leave comments if you like, they stroke my ego.


End file.
